Saturday, June 26, 2010

Need Some Insect Identification Help




Well, I can't figure out what is eating my peas. I can see the little buggers, but they are so small that I don't think they show up in the picture. What I suspect is eating my peas are tiny wormy-looking yellow/orangish things that can be easily blown off of the pea. The reason I suspect these little turds is because once I noticed something was wrong and began to inspect further, I saw that these little things were in the discolored areas on the peas (usually 2-3 of them in each area). I guess they could just be reaping the benefits of an already open sore on the pea, but I have a feeling they are to blame. You can see one a bit in the first big picture in the very bottom beneath the second pea pod.

The peas are affected and so are the leaves. One plant is even beginning to turn yellowish-brown and crust up. I picked a ton of peas, trying to get all that I can out of the plants before they go down. I have gotten a lot off of the plants. Maybe it is just their time to go? I don't know...it seems too early. Last year, I saved some of the seeds and planted those this year. Could that have been the problem? I was thinking of planting more of this variety elsewhere. Is that a bad idea?

Monday, June 7, 2010

Flowers and Fruiting

The beans and peas are beginning to sprout tiny little pods.









Our tomatoes in the garden are about to flower (the patio tomato and one that is in the back yard in a place of honor have already flowered and have tomatoes on them...one of them is orange now!), and the potatoes are flowering along with the raspberries.









It looks as if the peppers are just about to flower. I think that is what is going on in the middle of their leaves. It would be awesome to eat peppers before September!



Last year, things seemed to take forever!

I'm having a tough time with the warm weather fruits. The cantaloupe that I directly seeded just germinated, but the watermelons have not. I started some of both indoors, but every time I try putting them out, they seem to shrivel up into oblivion (I think it is because of our strong winds... and because they hate me). The Three Sisters Garden is doing really well. I planted some of the beans because the corn was tall enough, and that just germinated today. The squash and cucumber are doing well, but we will see what happens throughout the summer.

My lettuce seems to be enjoyed by fruit flies, but they can't be what's eating them, right? I have checked and checked for aphids but haven't seen any, unless these things I think are fruit flies are aphids?









I still have a lot of started plants that I don't know what to do with. I have a ton of started peppers, some tomatoes, watermelon that look really great that I'm afraid to put out into the wind, cantaloupe, and a squash. I don't really have room for them, but I hate killing things or throwing them out. I'll see if I can find spots for them.